Well, New York sure is something else! I kicked off the month with a 12-day trip to the state where I spent all my money, gained 5 pounds, and bounced between 5 different sleeping arrangements.

But it all started with a wedding on July 1st in The Catskills 😊

Catskills Wedding

My college friends Wes and Sloane had a pretty special wedding at a campy resort in The Catskills, with the whole weekend being a well-organized production.

On Friday night, there was a “honky tonk” themed welcome barbecue featuring a country band and some two-stepping. And while I didn’t wake up in time for Saturday morning yoga, I did attend the 10am disc golf (after a rough start where my first two throws found their way into the river, I ultimately wound up getting the hang of it), the 11am kickball game (with two of the uncles in full-on referee gear there to officiate), the 12pm lunch (with an ice cream truck that pulled up midway through), and the 1pm pool party.

After napping, showering, ironing, and changing, I made my way down for the ceremony. The weather was perfect, the outdoor venue was idyllic, and the vows were sweet. And Wes’s custom suit was pretty darn remarkable as well.

From there, we partied it up at the reception. The band’s setlist was comprised of early 2000s punk rock hits (Blink-182, Smash Mouth, Fall Out Boy, etc.) and the night flew by on the dance floor. Then there was the custom fireworks show (yes, really) and a DJ-fueled afterparty in a cool speakeasy-esque venue on site.

The whole weekend was a blast. I haven’t had too many friend weddings up to this point, but that’s gonna be a hard one to top!

A big congratulations to Wes and Sloane — it was an absolute joy to be a part of your big day 😊

New York City

Since I was already out that way, I decided to extend my trip and spend extra time in New York City. Over the course of that next week, I bounced between seeing friends from high school, college, summer camp, study abroad, summer programs, and entrepreneurship communities. And on top of the planned hangs, I found myself having random run-ins on the streets, at bagel shops, or at cocktail bars with people from various parts of my life as well.

Highlights from the week included catching the 4th of July fireworks show from my friend’s Brooklyn highrise overlooking the Manhattan skyline, seeing a show at The Comedy Cellar (Dan Soder was the most famous drop-in that night), playing basketball in Brooklyn Heights, and getting some games of Spikeball going in Central Park. Otherwise, I spent my time eating well and drinking well and just catching up with folks.

It felt great to be in NYC. The energy was infectious, and it feels like more and more people I know are finding their way out there each month. Fortunately, I’ve got another wedding in the general NYC area in October (this time in Greenwich, CT), so I’ve got an excuse to run it back in a couple of months. NYC friends — I’ll see y’all then!

General Life Updates

I spent the rest of the month kicking it in Austin, working during the weekdays and doing water activities on the weekends. One highlight in particular was a backyard slip-n-slide and inflatable pool day where I learned that they now make water balloons that come pre-tied (these technological advancements are getting out of hand). I also hit Top Golf with friends (and learned that I’m a righty when it comes to golfing).

Monthly Favorites

🎵 Song: My two shares this week both happen to be 1998 hip-hop tunes

• ​Rosa Parks by Outkast — Nothing but good vibes with this one
• ​Back That Azz Up by Juvenile — An unbelievably fun NPR Tiny Desk performance featuring a three-piece horn section, violist, and cellist

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📝 Article: Five Career-Related Things I've Changed My Mind On by Jack Raines — Jack Raines is a 26-year-old business / finance writer whose newsletter I greatly enjoy. This new essay of his has a lot of gems in it, and I particularly liked his first point on how “Work and 'traditional' jobs aren’t prisons you should seek to escape." From the essay:

And also:

After spending 2022 embracing freedom and diving into solo projects, I’m now a whole lot happier having structure and being part of a team. There’s a glorification around freedom and/or being your own boss that I find to be quite overrated. But it’s hard to internalize that until you get a taste and realize how empty and/or stressful that lifestyle truly can be.

I’m sure it works for some, but personally, I crave socializing and driving after goals with a team. Working on hard things with other people uniquely gives me that opportunity that freedom or solo passion projects cannot. And so instead of optimizing for freedom or “being the boss”, I instead want to focus on finding teams of people I like that are driving after things I find interesting.

I used to think those opportunities could only exist as an entrepreneur, which was really stressful! But now I know that there are jobs that can be actually enjoyable — or at the very least, that don’t suck. That doesn’t mean they’re easy to find or don’t require some risk or sacrifice. But finding that fulfilling work with people I enjoy has provided mental and emotional riches that I completely overlooked when I was in my “anti-traditional jobs” state of mind.

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📕 Book: Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory by Raphael Bob-Waksberg — A fantastic collection of short stories about love written by, of all people, the creator of the TV show Bojack Horseman

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📦 Product: Barbenheimer T-Shirt — To celebrate the Barbie / Oppenheimer release date showdown, I snagged one of these Barbenheimer tees. Will this have only like a one-month relevancy shelf life? Probably. But regardless, I’m quite impressed with the creator’s sewing skills here, as this shirt really is two tees cut up and stitched into one.

Thanks for reading! As always, if anything I shared resonated with you, I’d love for you to shoot me a reply 😊

Til Next Month,

Ben

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